The Ducks’ future was on display Monday at Honda Center.
Jamie Drysdale joined the Ducks for his first practice with the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2020, forming a defense pair with Jacob Larsson. Trevor Zegras, picked ninth in 2019, skated on right wing on a line with left wing Sonny Milano and center David Backes for his first practice.
It remains to be determined if Drysdale and/or Zegras will be part of the Ducks’ present.
Rosters must be finalized by Tuesday at 2 p.m. PT.
“We are so proud and we’re excited about these two young men,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “They both had unbelievable tournaments (at World Juniors), and Trevor has a gold medal. We’re excited about both guys. We firmly believe both guys are going to play in the NHL.
“But these guys have got to be better than somebody we have in our lineup.”
In other words, Drysdale must win a spot in a battle for ice time with Larsson, Simon Benoit, Kodie Curran, Jani Hakanpaa, Josh Mahura and Andy Welinski. Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Kevin Shattenkirk have locked up the top four spots, according to Eakins.
Zegras might have an advantage since he can play each of the three forward positions, although there is plenty of competition for those spots. Rickard Rakell, Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg are likely to form one line and Nicolas Deslauriers, Carter Rowney and Derek Grant another.
Ryan Getzlaf and Sam Steel are expected to center the other two lines.
“The best way you can grade yourself is among your peers, but now your peers are NHL players,” Eakins said, referring to the jump from World Juniors to the NHL for the 18-year-old Drysdale and the 19-year-old Zegras, who played for Canada and the United States, respectively.
“That’s the next challenge for these two young men, to take somebody’s ice time. They’re eventually going to get their look. But our question in our organization in the last several days is, what’s our best step forward, not only for those two players but for our team to win?”
DEFENSIVE DEPTH
The Ducks invited defenseman Ben Hutton for a pro tryout, hoping to fill a void created last week when the Detroit Red Wings claimed Christian Djoos off waivers and Brendan Guhle suffered a sprained knee ligament that could sideline him for six weeks.
Hutton had 16 points, including four goals, in 65 games with the Kings last season after signing a one-season, $1.5 million contract. Overall, he has 15 goals and 71 assists in 341 career games in five NHL seasons, including four with the Vancouver Canucks.
Eakins said he was unsure when Hutton might begin his tryout since he must go through COVID-19 protocols, including a seven-day quarantine with multiple negative tests, before he can skate with the Ducks. Opening night is Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas.
HOME REMODELING COMPLETE
The Ducks relocated to Honda Center from Great Park Ice for Monday’s practice, getting their first looks at their new dressing room, just down the corridor from their old one. Their previous digs will be transformed into a restaurant that is expected to be open in time for the 2021-22 season.
“I don’t even feel like I should be in here,” Eakins said, sounding more than a little impressed by the upgrade over the cramped and outdated space that hardly had been touched since the arena opened in 1993. “It’s that nice. I feel like it should be dirtier or more beat up.”
The San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ AHL team, began their training camp at Great Park Ice, where they will play all of their games this season without fans in attendance. The shift to Irvine from San Diego was made in order to maintain the same health protocols among the NHL and AHL teams.
The AHL season begins on Feb. 5, although the schedule has not been announced.
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